Dominican snacks table Featured

Side-by-side with a produce stand and an orange-juice press (forlorn in freezing weather), this table was crowded mostly with homemade sweets. I quickly recognized the handheld confections and a pair of pale yellowish puddings but couldn't make out the items at front and center, in the round containers, which were filled with something dark and sticky. "Naranja," said the proprietor — slices of orange, in syrup.

These might have been wonderful, eaten as is or employed in some elaborate recipe, but I didn't trust the plastic tub in my backpack. (My camera case, which typically sits at the bottom of the pack, bears all sorts of interesting stains.) A dulce de mani ($1), or peanut sweet, hit the spot without muss or fuss.